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Ghost Program
|fgcolor= |image=Ghost SC2 Logo1.jpg |imgsize= |imgdesc= |race1=Terran |race2= |type=Psionic reconnaissance and special forces group |founding= |constitution= |leader= Ilsa Killiany (?—2500) Kevin Bick (2500—) |headofstate= |headofgov= |commander= |defacto= Confederate Command (?—February, 2500) Arcturus Mengsk (March, 2500—April, 2505) Valerian Mengsk (April, 2505—) |executive= |legislative= |judicial= |affiliation= Terran Confederacy (?—2500) Terran Dominion (2500—) |strength=283 ghosts plus support personnel |capital=*Ghost Academy, Tarsonis (?—2500) *Ursa (2500—) |language= |currency= |holiday= |formed= |established=By 2481 |fragmented=2500 |reorganized=2500 (as the Dominion Ghost Program) |dissolved= |restored= |status=Active as a Terran Dominion military organization }} The Ghost Program was a project for the training and use of terran ghosts. Originally created by the Terran Confederacy, it was later adopted by the Terran Dominion. Ghosts are feared terran covert operatives. They are known for their skill, psionic powers and ability to cloak.Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. Overview Ghosts are chosen from psychically-gifted individuals who were quarantined by the Terran Confederacy and trained from infancy to channel their psionic energies to augment their natural physical strength and endurance. Conscripts who successfully completed the Ghost Program's rigorous training and augmentations then served as commandos and assassins. Ghosts are lightly armored and can hide their presence with a cloaking device.Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. Ghosts are generally trained as commandos and assassins, appearing and striking suddenly and silently. In addition, ghosts direct nuclear missile strikes against enemy targets. Their stealth abilities make them extremely valuable for this role. Standard Confederate practice was to implant psychic dampeners into all ghosts as a precautionary measure,Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. acting on the principle of neural resocialization; however these implants could be removed.Neilson, Micky (December 18, 2000). StarCraft: Uprising. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-1898-0 (eBook). While active, the implants reshape a ghost's memories, weaken their powers and enforce loyalty. As a result, few ghosts under the program have any memories of their former lives. After the defection of Sarah Kerrigan, memory wipes became standard operating procedure, only made optional after Valerian Mengsk came to power.2016-11-06, INSIDE BLIZZARD PUBLISHING. Blizzpro, accessed on 2016-11-11 Ghosts live their lives entirely within the program: all housing, food and living arrangements were given to them by the Ghost Program, making it difficult for many who had never lived outside of it to adjust to civilian life. For the most part, ghosts are simply numbers or names. Under the Confederacy, all ghosts, regardless of whether they "graduated" or not, were assigned a standard number and/or agent number (an alpha-numeric code). The Dominion has retained this system. Under the Confederacy, ghosts were unaware of their true names and while most ghosts retain knowledge of their names under the Dominion, their training emphasises that they should address each other by their alpha-numerics—a trait followed by Dominion soldiers as well.Kenyon, Nate. (September 27, 2011). StarCraft: Ghost: Spectres. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-1439-10938-0. All ghosts possess a personal file, though the contents are restricted.Mesta, Gabriel. StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga. Pocket Books, 2001. ISBN 0-671-04149-5. History The history of terran psionic abilities began on Earth even before the existence of the United Powers League. At the end of the twenty-first century, private firms had developed biotechnology which granted human subjects abilities which included advanced telepathy. Unfortunately, Earth erupted in a civil war, partly as a result of these genetic manipulations. By the year 2229, most of the Earth was under the grip of the United Powers League. The UPL launched "Project Purification" to remove mutations and unnecessary cybernetic prosthetics from the human population. UPL troops scoured the globe, killing over 400 million people and throwing many more into prison. The scientist Doran Routhe, who lived during this period, began a colonization project. He intended to send thousands of prisoners to the world of Gantris VI to mine new resources which could be found there. Many of these prisoners were prey to the mutations that had spanned the human species. The prisoners were put into cold sleep and loaded into four supercarriers, then sent on a journey. The lead vessel contained ATLAS, a revolutionary artificial intelligence. During the journey, ATLAS discovered something unusual about the prisoners – a relatively high proportion of them had a mutation leading to psionic potential. While currently weak, it would manifest in only a few generations. This information was logged and sent back to Earth. The prison ships missed their target, ending up in the Koprulu Sector. There they founded three colonies, with Tarsonis being the most technologically advanced. Tarsonis founded an interstellar government which they called the Terran Confederacy. The Confederacy's New Power About twenty years before the war sparked by the destruction of Chau Sara, the Terran Confederacy had already created a fledgling Ghost Program. One of their subjects, eight-year-old Sarah Kerrigan, was brought to their attention after her powers erupted in spectacular fashion. The child's psionic abilities were so potent, it required a complete readjustment of the measurement scale.Blizzard Entertainment. 2010-07-24. Cast of Characters: Kerrigan. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-07-24. The girl appeared to possess telekinetic abilities, but the Confederacy appeared unsure about the existence of this power and demanded incontrovertible proof of this ability. Even when the girl destroyed her trainer's gun, it wasn't considered acceptable proof. At this time, "neuro-adjusters" were routinely inserted into the heads of uncooperative ghost subjects.Neilson, Micky. "StarCraft: Hybrid." Amazing Stories 601 (Spring 2000): 70-75.Neilson, Micky (December 18, 2000). StarCraft: Uprising. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-1898-0 (eBook). Years later, ghosts used their special abilities to assassinate Angus Mengsk in order to shut down the rebellion of Korhal IV. Angus Mengsk's head was never found. Shortly after this incident, the Rebellion of Korhal was taken over by Arcturus Mengsk, Angus' genius son. It had created an alliance with Umoja. The Confederates feared the alliance and fired a barrage of nuclear missiles at the planet, nearly wiping out all life. Millions of Korhalian colonists were killed, although the rebel movement still survived – with very small numbers. As a political consequence of this extreme action, the Confederates limited their use of nuclear weaponry to tactical nukes. These nukes would be guided to their destinations by ghosts. The Confederacy discovered a species of strange xenomorphs among their Fringe Worlds. They conducted experiments with them on the world of Vyctor 5, which was home to the secret "Fujita Facility". The Confederate scientists discovered that the aliens were sensitive to psionic abilities and could even be controlled. Ghost Agent Sarah Kerrigan had the best control over them, and was the only subject allowed to work with them after a point (the rest of the ghost subjects were killed). Unfortunately for the Confederates, Arcturus Mengsk and his Sons of Korhal rebel movement raided the facility, discovered the existence of the aliens and rescued Kerrigan. The Sons of Korhal removed her neuro-adjuster, enabling her to recover her memories. Kerrigan led the Sons of Korhal in an attack on the Ghost Academy, the primary ghost training center, on Tarsonis, destroying it. The Confederates feared that more ghosts might defect, so in order to prevent their memories from being used by their enemies, they started memory wiping the ghosts, a technique that is (at least theoretically) unbreakable. Ghosts of War The Terran Confederacy lost their colony of Chau Sara to a sudden attack by a species of technologically advanced aliens, the protoss. Shortly thereafter, another species, the zerg, were spotted on Mar Sara. At the secret Jacobs Installation, the Confederates experimented with a new piece of psionic technology, the psi-emitter. The technology amplified a psychic's powers so the zerg could detect them from far off – the rebel Sons of Korhal movement would later claim that this technology drew the zerg to Mar Sara.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Trump Card (in English). 1998. The Confederates found themselves facing off against the zerg, protoss and Sons of Korhal and were losing ground in the war. Ghosts suffered a high mortality rate. Ghost Program Director Ilsa Killiany believed that the ghosts were the only thing keeping the Confederacy alive, and went out of her way to acquire powerful psychics for the program. She even sent an agent to track down a fifteen-year-old scion of the Old Families on Tarsonis in order to forcibly recruit her into the program - by this point, the Confederate knowledge of psionics had expanded; they had psionic detection equipment and could "rate" psychic power on a "Psi Index" from 0 to 10. The teenaged girl, November Terra, was retrieved just as the Sons of Korhal defeated the Confederacy at Tarsonis; ironically, the rebels used the psi-emitter technology to lure zerg to the world and do their dirty work for them.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Big Push (in English). 1998. The Confederacy imploded and the Sons of Korhal, renaming itself the Terran Dominion, gained control over many Terran colonies. The Dominion took control of the Ghost Program. The young girl was rescued and taken to the world as part of the new Ghost Program. Sarah Kerrigan had played a large role in the Sons of Korhal victory, but because she displayed a greater morality than its leader, Arcturus Mengsk, she was abandoned to the zerg on a space platform over Tarsonis.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: New Gettysburg (in English). 1998. She didn't die, but was infested. She resurfaced on the world of Char as the Queen of Blades.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Agent of the Swarm (in English). 1998. One of her first actions was to attack the Amerigo, a science vessel. Despite her infested state, the Confederacy's old "ghost conditioning", another method used to dampen a disloyal ghost's powers, was still active. She was able to steal the information on the conditioning from the Amerigo's computers''StarCraft.'' Vivendi Games. Mission: The Amerigo (in English). 1998. and finally break the conditioning.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Dark Templar (in English). 1998. The Next Generation The Dominion took over the Ghost Program following the defeat of the Confederacy, relocating the to Ursa and putting Director Kevin Bick in charge of the program. Under the rule of Arcturus Mengsk, ghosts of the Dominion remained ghosts until they died, without exception—no-one could leave the program voluntarily.Zahn, Timothy (November 8, 2016). StarCraft: Evolution. Del Rey Books. ISBN 0425284735. Mengsk ordered fully halfApril 6, 2010. "Timeline". StarCraft II: Heaven's Devils. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). pp. 311 - 323. ISBN 978-1416-55084-6. (282 minus one) of his government's ghosts killed in a controlled environment as part of an "overhaul" of the program,Golden, Christie. StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #2: Shadow Hunters. Pocket Star Books, November 27, 2007. ISBN 0-7434-7126-1. in order to eliminate untrustworthy former Confederate ghosts as well as those considered "worthless". As part of these reforms, Mengsk ordered the construction of dedicated ghost academies equipped with nuclear silos.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. Collections Tab: Skins. October 17, 2016 The Dominion came into conflict with the Umojan Protectorate over the fate of its ghost trainees. Senator Corbin Phash of Maltair IV secretly harbored a psychic son, Colin. The secret was revealed when the planet was attacked by the zerg. Only the two Phashes survived.Benjamin, Paul and Dave Shramek (w), Sevilla, Hector (p, i). "Weapon of War." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 1 (paperback binding), pp. 94–139. Tokyopop, August 1, 2008. ISBN 978-1427-80721-2. Corbin Phash took shelter with the Protectorate, but Colin was captured and inducted into the Program.Benjamin, Paul and Dave Shramek (w), Sevilla, Hector (p, i). "War-Torn." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 3 (paperback binding), pp. 6-47. Tokyopop, July 14, 2009. ISBN 978-1427-80832-5. The Dominion even tried to assassinate Corbin Phash, but Phash survived the attack.Benjamin, Paul and Dave Shramek (w), Mel joy San Juan (p). "Orientation." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 4 (paperback binding), pp. 114-161. Tokyopop, October 1, 2009. ISBN 978-1427-81698-6. The Dominion turned to public relations to defend its use of ghosts in order to counter propaganda made by former Senator Phash and spread by the Protectorate, publicizing them and making them out to be "superheroes".DeCandido, Keith R. A. (w), Fernando Heinz Furukawa (p, i). StarCraft: Ghost Academy: Volume 1 (paperback binding). Tokyopop, December 29, 2009. ISBN 978-1427-81612-2. Despite this however, they have achieved a mythical status, many terrans believing that ghosts or mind-reading do not exist.Golden, Christie. StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #1: Firstborn. Pocket Star Books, May 2007. ISBN 0-7434-7125-3. As a result of Phash's propaganda, the Ghost Academy became more "open" and comfortable. It began training students in groups on the recommendation of Superintendent Sarco Angelini. While Angelini believed this resulted in a superior training technique, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk was only interested in the public relations value.DeCandido, Keith R. A. (w), Fernando Heinz Furukawa (p, i). StarCraft: Ghost Academy: Volume 1 (paperback binding). Tokyopop, January 1, 2010. ISBN 978-1427-81612-2. Ghost Academy underwent a public relations backfire when it admitted son of the head of the Terran Dominion Treasury Ministry, Aal Cistler, in spite of him not having the correct PI to be trained. After he was kicked out for giving drugs to a student of the academy, Lio Travski, the academy was attacked on the Universal News Network for its mismanagement.Gerrold, David (w), Fernando Heinz Furukawa (p, i). StarCraft: Ghost Academy: Volume 2 (paperback binding). Tokyopop, August 10, 2010. ISBN 978-1427-81613-9. Issues were further complicated when a training group rescued members of the Old Families during a training operation, after which Emperor Mengsk had the memories of the training crew wiped and the Old Family scions executed.Gerrold, David (w), Fernando Heinz Furukawa (p, i). StarCraft: Ghost Academy: Volume 3 (paperback binding). Tokyopop, March 8, 2011. ISBN 978-1427-81614-6. The Dominion's Ghost Program instituted a training change; trainees had to undergo a graduation exercise immediately prior to their memory wipe. Nova Terra was the first agent to undergo the process, successfully terminating her targets. Capabilities The next generation of ghosts were trained in several new psionic techniques and given access to new technology. In addition to their previous abilities, they could combine psionics and technology to do things such as greatly increase their speed and reflexes and see through objects with heat vision.Source: BlizzCon 2005 StarCraft: Ghost information. Terran Infantry. Artist: Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-09-08.2006-02-06. Psi Powers. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-09-01. The program also began using protoss-derived technology such as the psyblade.Blevins, Tal. 2002-09-19. StarCraft: Ghost: Exclusive first details of Blizzard's big console shooter. IGN. Accessed 2007-09-01 Ghost Enhancement Projects Following the , the Dominion discovered terrazine gas, a potent psionic reagent,2006-02-15. Story. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-09-01. at locations such as Mar Sara.Blizzard Entertainment. 2010-07-24. Koprulu Sector Systems: Mar Sara. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-07-24. Project Shadow Blade ]] :Main articles: Project Shadow Blade, Spectre Following the Brood War, Project Shadow Blade was formed as a secret Terran Dominion project to study the effects of a psionic reagent, terrazine, on terrans. The gas was discovered on the fringe world of Demon's Fair and the experiments took place there. General Horace Warfield led the project. The project was infiltrated by Cole Bennett, an escapee from the Ghost Program, and secretly the head of Nova Squadron, Jackson Hauler. Bennett experimented on himself, increasing his own psionic power. His experimentation was discovered, and the project dissolved. Bennett escaped, hiding his involvement, and three of his experimental subjects were thrown into the New Folsom Prison. :Main articles: Project Gestalt, Gestalt In 2502 Dominion Intelligence Section devised Project Gestalt, in which Dr. Stanley Burgess spliced ghosts with protoss organs. The first resulting gestalt was codenamed Gestalt Zero. The next year, Zero captured a high templar and some of its higher-quality nerve cords were added to him, creating a warrior with a PI of over 7 who fought at 187% of the effectiveness of the typical ghost without any of the "unpredictable" side effects of terrazine enhancement. The project ended in disaster, however.Elder, Josh (w), Ramanda Kamarga (p), Angie Nathalia (i), Junadi (i). "Do No Harm." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 3 (paperback binding), pp. ?-?. Tokyopop, July 14, 2009. ISBN 978-1427-80832-5. The Spectre Rebellion Bennett, bitter at the Dominion's attempt to kill him, turned against Emperor Arcturus Mengsk, but did so secretly. He made contact with another escaped ghost, Gabriel Tosh, a former technopath turned AI, Lio Travski, and the Umojan Protectorate, and recreated his own version of Project Shadowblade. Tosh discovered a new source of terrazine on the world of Altara. Using jorium and psi indoctrinators, they could convert resocialized marines into new, lower-grade spectres. They operated out of Gehenna Station, a cloaked battle platform.Kenyon, Nate. (September 27, 2011). StarCraft: Ghost: Spectres. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-1439-10938-0. By 2502, ghosts began disappearing from the Program. The Program tried to cover up the disappearances but by 2503, over a dozen ghosts had been abducted. Numerous ghosts were involved in the counter-insurgency/investigation, but their ranks had already been worn thin by the rebel group. The Dominion publicly blamed the terrorist attacks on remnants of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet. Travski was able to replicate Dominion communications, luring ghosts into compromising positions. By 2503 Tosh decided to lure his old training team, Team Blue, into Shadowblade. He lured Kath Toom to Altara and abducted her, slowly converting her to his side. The Dominion responded by sending a wrangler, Malcolm Kelerchian, to investigate. He discovered a modified refinery on the terrazine rift, but it blew up due to Shadowblade sabotage. An injured Kelerchian was trapped on the planet. He made a distress call. Mengsk dispatched one of his most powerful ghosts, Nova Terra, to retrieve Kelerchian. She was accompanied by Nova Squadron, ferried by its battlecruiser, the Palatine. Due to the rules against reading minds, and also Hauler's unique psionic abilities, she didn't realize she was surrounded by her enemies. The explosion lured the zerg to Altara, and they got there a little ahead of Nova Squadron. Terra intended to scout, but was interrupted by heavier Nova Squadron forces landing, led by Lieutenant Chet Ward. She rescued Kelerchian, destroyed the zerg, and enabled Nova Squadron to escape. Afterward, a team of ghosts were sent to assist Terra in the investigation. However, one such ghost, Talen Holt, was actually a spectre acting as a mole. In addition, Nova Squadron was accompanied by a special forces unit, the Annihilators, which had issues with Terra. Shadowblade launched an attack on Augustgrad, intending to capture Mengsk and replace him with Bennett. Despite attempts by Travski to cover it up, the emperor managed to contact other forces for help. The attack was also an attempt to recruit Nova Terra to Shadowblade, but both attempts failed. Bennett tried a new tactic. Realizing Mengsk trusted Terra, and that she was in love with Kelerchian, he had Kelerchian kidnapped and taken to Gehenna Station. Then he told Terra to turn over Mengsk or he would murder Kelerchian. Terra surrendered, but managed to escape and hid on the Palatine. She also made contact with Travski, converting him to her side. Together they contacted the Annihilators and revealed the plot. They agreed to cooperate. When the Palatine reached Gehenna, she slipped aboard. She confronted and defeated Kath Toom, who was now loyal to Tosh. She broke Kelerchian from prison. Meanwhile, Bennett had murdered Toom and pinned the blame on Terra, hoping Tosh would seek her out and kill her. During a confrontation with Terra, the treachery was revealed to Tosh. He attacked Bennett, giving Terra the distraction she needed to kill him. Terra and Kelerchian escaped in one vessel. Tosh took six indoctrinators, each with a marine, with him on the Palatine. Travski left, believing Shadowblade to be a failed experiment. Second Great War Ghost agents were deployed by the Dominion throughout the Second Great War, often coming into conflict with the zerg and Raynor's Raiders.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Media Blitz (in English). 2010-07-27. Nova Terra continued her hunt for the spectres, even offering rebel Jim Raynor access to ghost technology in exchange for his aid in hunting the spectres.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Ghost of a Chance (in English). 2010-07-27. After the Battle of Char, Arcturus Mengsk sent a ghost team under Agent Nova, supported by Dominion infantry, to raid the Umojan Protectorate Research Station EB-103 to retrieve a recently uninfested Sarah Kerrigan and Jim Raynor. Kerrigan and a portion of Raynor's Raiders escaped, but the ghost team was able to capture Jim Raynor.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, Back in the Saddle (in English). 2013-03-12. Ghosts were continually used to stop Kerrigan's resurgent Zerg Swarm on Char,Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, Old Soldiers (in English). 2013-03-12. Skygeirr Station,Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, Infested (in English). 2013-03-12. the Moros''Blizzard Entertainment. ''StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, Conviction (in English). 2013-03-12. and finally Korhal itself. They were not enough to stop Kerrigan however, and Arcturus Mengsk was killed.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, The Reckoning (in English). 2013-03-12. End War Dominion spec ops ghosts were deployed with special forces under Agent Nova Terra in their assaults against Amon's Forces.Blizzard Entertainment. Co-op Missions. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Nova Terra (in English). 2018. Ghost agent Stone and his crew were assigned to investigate a Moebius battle station threatening Dominion colonies. After calling on the aid of allied commanders, Stone was able to destroy the platform using xel'naga technology.Blizzard Entertainment. Co-op Missions. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Cradle of Death (in English). 2018. Reforms After coming to the throne, Emperor Valerian Mengsk made reforms to the Dominion Armed Forces. Special attention was given to the Ghost Program.2016-10-21, Six Reasons Why StarCraft: Evolution Will Be a Must-Read. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2016-10-22 This resulted in better, more committed ghosts who served of their own free will.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. Collections Tab: Skins. October 17, 2016 Among his reforms was to make memory wipes optional, and to allow ghosts to leave the Program voluntarily, though by 2511, only one ghost had taken advantage of the offer. Ghost Training in training]] The harsh training regimen under the Terran Confederacy was further modified when the Terran Dominion took over. Under the Dominion failed trainees were "eliminated" and were required to complete a practical assignment before graduating. Few ghosts survive service long enough to be considered veterans. Conscription Theoretically all ghosts were trained from infancy. It was mandatory for children born within the Confederacy to have a Psi Aptitude (PA) Profile taken within nine months of birth.http://classic.battle.net/scc/terran/ug.shtml. SC1 Ghost. A score of 2.50 or higher resulted in recruitment into the program.Specialist Fields. Accessed on 2008-01-31 Naturally the ideal of universal testing was impossible and it was possible for Fringe World children to escape detection.Grubb, Jeff. StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade. Pocket Books, February 27, 2001. ISBN 0-671-04148-7.Hickman, Tracy. StarCraft: Speed of Darkness. Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books, May 21, 2002. ISBN 0-671-04150-9. In rare cases, children with socially powerful parents could also escape.Benjamin, Paul, Shramek, Dave and Hector Sevilla. "Weapon of War." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 1, pp. 94–139. Tokyopop, August 1, 2008. ISBN 1427-80721-3. Cover stories were invented to obfuscate the fate of conscripted children. Some parents were informed their children were being taken to "special schools", and sometimes this was followed by reports the child had "died in an accident." The Dominion is relatively up front about the recruitment process. Should a child be accepted, parents are given a letter beforehand informing them of their child's selection. However, failure to comply with the child's selection will result in penalties. The recruitment is carried out by the Psi-Ops Division.DeCandido, Keith R. A. (w), Fernando Heinz Furukawa (p, i). StarCraft: Ghost Academy: Volume 1 (paperback binding). Tokyopop, December 29, 2009. ISBN 978-1427-81612-2. Wranglers PA Profiles aside, telepaths who could be useful to the terran armed forces (either as ghosts or performing other roles) are usually tracked down by "wranglers", mildly psionic agents whose powers are generally only useful for finding other telepaths at close range. They can use equipment to help them in their search, but the equipment is itself limited. Dominion Ghost Program wranglers are paid for each psychic they bring in, and often work with more conventional military forces. They sometimes use zerglings, "lobotomized" to cut them off from the Zerg Swarm, in order to track down psychics.Benjamin, Paul and Dave Shramek (w), Sevilla, Hector (p, i). "War-Torn." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 3 (paperback binding), pp. 6-47. Tokyopop, July 14, 2009. ISBN 978-1427-80832-5. The Ghost Academy :Main article: Ghost Academy The is the site where Terran Confederacy ghosts trained, along with its successor state, the Terran Dominion. Ghosts spent an average of four years at the Academy. Psionics Psionic Powers Ghosts have the ability to read minds but generally do not have the ability to block thoughts; ghosts find each other very easy to read. Ghosts and weaker psychics can detect other sources of psionic power.Karune. 2008-03-26. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 33: ScreenCraft. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-03-26. With the assistance of their hostile environment suit, which ghosts can channel energy through artificial muscle fiber, they can enhance their physical capabilities.Ghost. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-08-10. A cloaking device and requisite power supply were frequently issued as well; the device requires psionic energy as a component.Rosenberg, Aaron (June 1, 2006). StarCraft: Queen of Blades. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-7133-4. The Next Generation Their abilities have expanded since the end of the Brood War, since the memory wipe technique is seen as superior to the neuro-adjuster. Exceptional ghosts exist that can tear through walls, run at remarkable speeds, and leap tall obstacles. Excitable media rumors of long-range telepathy, telekinesis, and even mind control or other exotic powers have all added to the grisly reputation of ghosts cultivated by their masters. Some ghosts have demonstrated a wider variety of powers; for instance, Sarah Kerrigan (pre-infestation)Neilson, Micky. "StarCraft: Hybrid." Amazing Stories 601 (Spring 2000): 70-75. as well as post) and Nova have demonstrated the ability to damage opponents' brains to the point of death. Nova can even kill multiple opponents while leaving someone in the midst of the attack unharmed and, with the assistance of her hostile environment suit, can dramatically increase her speed. Devon Starke has demonstrated the ability to project his thoughts, as well as remote viewing and psychometry. He and some other ghosts have also demonstrated the ability to plant suicidal and homicidal urges into an opponent's mind. Limiters ]] The Terran Confederacy decided to limit ghosts through various forms of neural processing, the Dominion following suit. *Aggression inhibitors, implants which prevent ghosts from attacking their superiors *Ghost conditioning, which weakens a ghost's psionic abilities *Psi-screens, a device which can be worn to protect one's mind from mind-reading, also a ghost training device *Psychic dampeners (known through various similar names), which reshape a ghost's memories, control them in a manner similar to neural resocialization and weaken their powers. *Memory wipe (successor to the psychic dampener) Standard Confederate practice was to implant psychic dampeners into all ghosts to weaken and reshape their memoriesNeilson, Micky (December 18, 2000). StarCraft: Uprising. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-1898-0 (eBook). and as a safeguard, acting on the principle of neural resocialization;Neilson, Micky. "StarCraft: Hybrid." Amazing Stories 601 (Spring 2000): 70-75. however these implants could be disabled. Following the defection of Sarah Kerrigan, the Confederacy instituted a policy of memory wipes.DeCandido, Keith R. A. (November 28, 2006). StarCraft: Ghost: Nova. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0743-47134-3. Ghosts are usually silent2007-03-18. StarCraft Ghost Trailer. Blizzard Entertainment/Youtube. Accessed 2007-04-18. and are generally loners, in part due to other terrans being wary of their psionic abilities, in part due to their lack of memory of past events. This serves their masters well—the harder it is for ghosts to form relationships, the fewer distractions they have to deal with. Ghosts are expected to remain impassive and forbidden to use their mind-reading powers, but they sometimes accidentally pick up surface thoughts.Kenyon, Nate. (September 27, 2011). StarCraft: Ghost: Spectres. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-1439-10938-0. The Next Generation ]] Following the defection of Sarah Kerrigan, the Terran Confederacy instituted new controls on its ghosts. For instance, instead of relying on psychic dampeners, which could be disabled, the memory wipe technique was implemented, and used after training and major missions. They were all subject to "brain panning". Every ghost was implanted with a neural implant whose sole function appeared to track the location of the ghost. Following the death of Arcturus Mengsk, ghosts were given more freedom in choosing whether or not they would undergo the memory wipe procedure.Neilson, Micky (w), Edouard Guiton (i) and Sandra Molina ©. (November 29, 2016). Nova: The Keep. Blizzard Entertainment. Nova: The Keep Accessed 2016-11-29. Combat Training In physical training, ghosts are trained in target shooting, close-quarters combat (martial arts and possibly other techniques) and vehicular expertise. Ghosts are also trained to move quickly and are desensitized to combat; an example would be Sarah Kerrigan's training, who had a gun placed to her head by a guard and was ordered to kill the guard before he killed her. Kerrigan was subjected to this training at age twelve. Artificial environments and simulations are also common, which include; *Artificial High Gravity Environment *Scenario A11-X93 - Trains ghosts to guide tactical nuclear weapons in holo-projection simulations. Referred to as "Nukes Away" by trainees.1999-10-22. Nukes Away. StarCraft Compendium Map Archive. Accessed 2007-09-15. Nukes Away Map *Valerian hostage rescue exercise - Team exercise for Dominion ghosts. Ghosts board a planet-hopper against marines with psi-screens. *Low-light maze combat exercise - Team exercise for Dominion ghosts. Ghosts combat automated defenses in a darkened maze, using infrared goggles. *Zerg combat exercise - Team exercise for Dominion ghosts. Ghosts fight automata simulating zerg creatures.Gerrold, David (w), Fernando Heinz Furukawa (p, i). StarCraft: Ghost Academy: Volume 2 (paperback binding). Tokyopop, August 10, 2010. ISBN 978-1427-81613-9. *Urban melee exercise - Team vs. team exercise for Dominion ghosts. Held in a battle-damaged urban environment. Other Faction Ghost Programs The Kel-Morian Combine and Umojan Protectorate both have a Ghost Program, which are different than the ones operated by the Terran Confederacy and Terran Dominion.Chris Metzen, Micky Neilson, Blizzplanet. 2009-02-09. Chris Metzen & Micky Neilson Pocket Star Books Lore Q&A Video Interview. Blizzplanet. Accessed 2009-02-09. The Umojan version are called "shadowguards", and do not use memory wipes or other forms of control.Burns, Matt. "Collateral Damage." (May 13, 2010). Blizzard Entertainment. Collateral Damage Accessed 2010-05-16. The Kel-Morian program has essentially been put on hold since the disastrous Guild Wars.Blizzard Entertainment. 2012-11-05. StarCraft II Creative Development Q&A - Part 5. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2012-11-05. Raynor's Raiders gained access to ghost technology from Nova Terra in exchange for helping her take out a renegade spectre faction led by Gabriel Tosh during the Second Great War.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Ghost of a Chance (in English). 2010-07-27. UED Ghost Program The United Earth Directorate had its own Ghost Program, even though its predecessor the United Powers League tried to wipe out mutants, including psychics. These ghosts played a key role in the assault on the Dylarian Shipyards.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Dylarian Shipyards (in English). 1998. Alexei Stukov commanded the loyalty of a number of ghosts.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Ruins of Tarsonis (in English). 1998.Blizzard Entertainment staff. 2008-04-16. The Story so Far... Part 2: The Brood War. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-04-16. Directorate psychics were used to control the second Overmind.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Cinematic: UED Victory Report (in English). 1998. Ghost Equipment All ghosts are given a hostile environment suit and may undergo surgery to replace their eyes with ocular implants. Their weapons of choice include: *AGR-14 rifle *BOSUN FN92 sniper rifle *C-10 rifle *C-20A rifle *E-11 lockdown device *Psyblade *Torrent SR-8 shotgun Ghost Teams Ghosts sometimes worked in teams on missions under the Confederacy, such as the assassination of Angus Mengsk. As of 2501, the Dominion has begun teaching ghosts trainees to work in teams in order to improve the Ghost Program's image. Known teams include: Confederate *Elite Guard *The Shroud Dominion *Bravo Team (joint ghost-marine unit, destroyed) *Spec ops ghosts *Squad 17 Training Teams *Team Blue *Team Purple *Team Red Other *Space Pirates Known Ghost Program Employees Ghost Members :Main article: Known Ghosts Leadership *Director Kevin Bick (current program head) *Director Ilsa Killiany (former program head, deceased) *Commandant Barris Schmidt Military Personnel *Major Rumm, Post Commander (deceased) *Major Vitkauskas *Commander Richard Walker *Sergeant Hartley Wranglers *Agent Malcolm Kelerchian *Randall (deceased) Preceptors Preceptors are responsible for training the students. *Appelbaum *Lagdamen *Ryke *Soohoo Other Staff *Superintendent Sarco Angelini *Dr. Gauthier *Dr. Reginald Morris (formerly) *Dr. Neall *Jeff Cristofer *Fiorello *Jenny Members of Associated Projects and Forces *General Leonid Celsus ("Ghostmaster General") *Colonel Alexander Davidoff (Second Fleet) *Colonel Jackson Hauler, leader of Nova Squadron (deceased) *Doctor Stanley Burgess, leader of Project Gestalt (deceased) Trivia Lines from Nova in Heroes of the Storm indicate that ghosts (at least those of the Dominion) are paid for their services, the amount corresponding to their level of skill.Blizzard Entertainment. Heroes of the Storm (Blizzard Entertainment) (in English). June 2, 2015 References 2005-11-29. Ghost. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-09-06. Category:Confederate Armed Forces Category:Dominion Armed Forces Category:Terran security